Bielema: I knew going into our first team meeting that they had gone through a lot. Everyone had a different story there about how the past season had affected them. Going 4-8 last season was hard for them.

Malzahn on potential quarterback Jeremy Johnson: I started recruiting him in the 8th grade, so I know a lot about him. He’s a great basketball player and athlete. How quick he can pick up our offense will be the deciding factor.

Malzahn on hurry-up offenses: I thought it was a joke that they were safety issues. I think that if you are going to look at rule changes, we should look at defensive players who fake injuries to slow down the pace of play.

Malzahn: Offensively, our biggest challenge this season will be our quarterback. We have four guys who can move the ball down the field, and we will give them an equal shot. But we will not make a decision until we are 110 percent sure.

Auburn’s 2010 offense, guided by Malzahn, set nine school records, including points scored in a season (577), points per game (41.2), total yards (6,989), total offense (499.2), rushing yards (3,987), rushing touchdowns (41) and passing touchdowns (31).

Malzahn won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach in 2010 for helping the Tigers to the BCS National Championship. Malzahn served one year as the head coach of Arkansas State in 2012, where he led the program to the Sun Belt Conference title.